Device for display item including centering mechanism

ABSTRACT

A device for displaying a display item includes a mounting member which includes a first mounting element and a second mounting element which is mountable on the display item and movable relative to the first mounting element between a plurality of display positions to position the display item as desired, and typically, to center the display item. The first mounting element includes a base and a lid which define an interior chamber and an elongated entrance opening. The second mounting element is disposed within the interior chamber and extends through the entrance opening. The base and lid close to secure the second mounting element relative to the first mounting element. The mounting member may be mounted on a base and removable therefrom for handling and viewing of the display item.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/507,300, filed Aug. 21, 2006, which claims the benefit of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/431,291, filed May 10, 2006, which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/754,138, filed Dec. 27,2005, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The invention relates generally to display stands for merchandise. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to a display stand which allows thehandling of an item of merchandise. Specifically, the invention relatesto such a display stand which allows an item of merchandise or otherdisplay item to be moved on the display stand between a plurality ofdisplay positions.

2. Background Information

Amongst the great variety of display stands used to display items ofmerchandise are those which allow a potential customer to handle andview the item of merchandise in order to determine if it hascharacteristics desirable to the potential customer. This is commonlythe case for displaying various types of electronic articles such ascell phones, cameras and the like which have a reasonably high unitvalue but which a retailer desires to allow the potential customer tohandle without seeking a store employee simply to unlock the merchandisefor such viewing and handling. In addition to the need to providesecurity against theft of such items, there is also a need to displaythe items of merchandise in an orderly manner. This often becomes aproblem when a potential customer picks up an item of merchandise suchas a cell phone or camera in order to look it over and see how it feels,and then places the item generally in the display area from which it wasobtained but in a haphazard manner. Especially because multiple items ofsuch merchandise are displayed near one another, when they are allreplaced haphazardly, it creates quite a disorderly appearance. Thepresent invention addresses this and other problems.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a device for displaying a display itemhaving an item mounting location, the device comprising a mountingmember comprising: a first mounting element having first and secondopposed sides and a longitudinal direction extending from the first sideto the second side; and a second mounting element comprising a firstmounting location adapted to connect to the item mounting location;wherein the second mounting element is movably mounted on the firstmounting element to move in the longitudinal direction relative to thefirst mounting element between a plurality of display positions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the base of thedisplay device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the first embodiment of the displaydevice.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary exploded view with portions in section showingthe mounting member with an item of merchandise mounted thereon andremoved from the base.

FIG. 4 is similar to FIG. 3 and shows the mounting member seated on thebase.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view with portions cut away showing the mountingmember and item of merchandise in dot dashed lines seated on the base inthe unaligned orientation.

FIG. 6 is similar to FIG. 5 and shows the mounting member and article ofmerchandise rotating away from the position shown in FIG. 5 toward thealigned display orientation.

FIG. 7 is similar to FIG. 6 and shows the mounting member and item ofmerchandise in the aligned display orientation.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary side elevational view with portions in sectionshowing the mounting member and item of merchandise having rotated tothe aligned display orientation.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the displaydevice of the present invention showing the mounting member mounted onthe base.

FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of the display device shown in FIG.9.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary perspective view of the second embodimentshowing the mounting member removed from the base.

FIG. 12 is a side elevational view of the second embodiment withportions cut away to show a sectional view of portions of the base whichform the opening therein, the mounting member with an article ofmerchandise mounted thereon with the post of the mounting memberdisposed above the opening in the base.

FIG. 13 is similar to FIG. 12 and shows the mounting member and articleof merchandise having moved downwardly so that the post is disposed inthe opening of the base and making initial contact with the angledcamming wall of the base which bounds the opening.

FIG. 14 is similar to FIG. 13 and shows the mounting member and articleof merchandise rotating as they continue to move downwardly within theopening of the base.

FIG. 15 is similar to FIG. 14 and shows the mounting member and articleof merchandise having fully rotated and moved downwardly to the aligneddisplay orientation.

FIG. 16 is a side elevational view of a third embodiment of the stand ofthe present invention showing the camera mounted on the mounting memberand the mounting member mounted on the base.

FIG. 17 is a side elevational view showing the upper portion of the basewith the camera and mounting member removed from the base.

FIG. 18 is a front elevational view of the camera mounted on themounting member.

FIG. 19 is a partially exploded view showing a lower portion of thecamera and the mounting member removed therefrom with the first mountingelement in an open position and the second mounting element removed fromwithin the first mounting element. More particularly, FIG. 19 shows afront elevational view of the lower portion of the camera, the lid ofthe first mounting element and the second mounting element; and a topplan view of the base of the first mounting element.

FIG. 20 shows the first mounting element in a more fully open positionso that the lid is seen in a bottom plan view and the base is seen in atop plan view.

FIG. 21 is a bottom plan view of the second mounting element.

FIG. 22 is a sectional view taken on line 22-22 of FIG. 21.

FIG. 23 is a sectional view of the mounting member taken from the frontwhen the first and second mounting elements are assembled and shows thelower portion of the camera with portions in section to show theinternally threaded mounting location of the camera.

FIG. 24 is a sectional view taken on line 24-24 of FIG. 23.

FIG. 25 is a top plan view of the assembled mounting member as indicatedby line 25-25 of FIG. 23.

FIG. 26 is a view showing the camera, second mounting element and thelid of the first mounting element in a fashion similar to FIG. 23 withthe second mounting element connected to the camera with the mountingscrew partially tightened. FIG. 26 also shows the base and lid openedwith the base shown in a bottom plan view. The camera and the secondmounting element are shown sliding from an unaligned off center position(solid lines) to an aligned centered position in phantom.

FIG. 27 is similar to FIG. 23 and shows the mounting member connected tothe camera with the mounting screw fully tightened, the base and lidclosed, and the first mounting element adjacent one end of the secondmounting element and abutting a stop thereof.

FIG. 28 is similar to FIG. 27 and shows the mounting member in use withan alternate camera, the first mounting element having moved to theother end of the second mounting element and abutting another stopthereof.

FIG. 29 is similar to FIG. 27 and shows the mounting member in use withanother camera with the second mounting element in a reversed positionwithin the first mounting element so that the tether passes through theentrance opening opposite that shown in FIG. 27.

Similar numbers refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A first embodiment of the display assembly or display stand of thepresent invention is indicated generally at 100 in FIGS. 1-2; and asecond embodiment is indicated generally at 200 in FIGS. 9-11; and athird embodiment is indicated generally at 300 in FIGS. 16-18. Referringto FIG. 102, stand 100 includes a base 102, a mounting member 104 whichis removably mountable on base 102 and a tether 106 which is connectedto and extends between base 102 and mounting member 104. Mounting member104 has a front 103, an opposed rear 105 and first and second sides 107and 109, which are noted herein primarily as points of reference toclarify the movement of mounting member 104 as later detailed. Mountingmember 104 is configured for mounting thereon an item of merchandise,such as a cell phone 108 (e.g., FIG. 3) to allow the item of merchandiseto be moved away from base 102 in order to view and handle said item.Base 102 includes a foundation 110 which is seated on a support surface111, an upwardly projecting column 112 which extends upwardly fromfoundation 110 and a seating member 114 which is connected to a top endof column 112 via a pair of fasteners in the form of screws 116. Column112 has a front, an opposed rear 115 and first and second opposed sides117 and 119, which are also noted herein primarily as points ofreference to clarify the movement of mounting member 104 as detailedbelow.

Seating member 114 defines an opening 118 which extends downwardly froman upper surface 120 of seating member 114. More particularly, seatingmember 114 includes a substantially flat seating plate 122 and acup-shaped member 124. Cup-shaped member 124 includes a cylindrical sidewall 126 which extends downwardly from plate 122 and a bottom wall 128(FIG. 3) connected to side wall 126 from which side wall 126 extendsupwardly. Cup-shaped member 124 has a smooth inner surface 130.

Mounting member 104 includes a merchandise mounting portion 132 and abase mounting portion in the form of a post 134 which extends downwardlyfrom portion 132. Post 134 includes a cylindrical or frustoconical sidewall 135 extending downwardly from mounting portion 132 and a bottomwall 137 connected to side wall 135 such that side wall 135 and bottomwall 137 define therein an interior chamber 139. Side wall 135 has agenerally frustoconical or cylindrical outer surface 136 of a matingconfiguration with inner surface 130 of cup-shaped member 124. Outersurface 136 is smooth so that friction between surface 136 and surface130 is reduced to facilitate slidable engagement therebetween when post134 is disposed in opening 118. Mounting member 132 has an upper surface138 on which cell phone 108 is mountable.

In accordance with a feature of the invention, a first magnet 140 isdisposed within interior chamber 139 of post 134 and a second magnet 142(FIG. 3) is mounted on base 102 adjacent and external to cup-shapedmember 124. First magnet 140 has a north pole N1 and a south pole S1.Second magnet 142 is a ring magnet which defines a central magnetopening 144 in which side wall 126 of cup-shaped member 124 is disposedwith an outer surface 146 of side wall 126 abutting an inner surface 148of magnet 142. Magnet 142 is mounted within an interior chamber 150defined by column 112 adjacent an upper end thereof. Second magnet 142has a north pole N2 and a south pole S2 which magnetically attractrespectively south pole S1 and north pole N1 of first magnet 140 toalign mounting member 104 and cell phone 108 when mounted thereon in analigned display orientation when post 134 is disposed within opening 118of base 102. In addition, repelling forces are also provided betweensouth poles S1 and S2 and between north poles N1 and N2 which assist inthe rotation of mounting member 104 and cell phone 108 to the aligneddisplay orientation.

Tether 106 is preferably of a configuration which allows for extensionand retraction thereof, such as a coiled wire, here shown as a standardtelephone cord. Tether 106 may thus also provide electricalcommunication between base 102 and mounting member 104 to, for example,provide a security alarm should cell phone 108 be removed from mountingmember 104 or should the electrical connection provided by tether 106 becompromised in some fashion. Base 102 may be free standing although itis generally preferable that base 102 be secured to support surface 111.

The operation of display stand 100 is described with reference to FIGS.4-8. FIG. 4 shows mounting member 104 mounted on base 102 with post 104disposed in opening 118 in an unaligned orientation. More particularly,north and south poles N1 and S1 of first magnet 140 are not respectivelyaligned with south and north poles S2 and N2 of second magnet 142. Asshown in FIG. 4, south pole S1 of first magnet 140 is generally offsetapproximately 90° from north pole N2 of second magnet 142. As seen inFIG. 4, rear 105 of member 104 is generally aligned with south pole S1of first magnet 140 and is thus approximately 90° offset from either ofnorth pole N2 and south pole S2 of magnet 142. In addition, a top 154and bottom 156 of cell phone 108 provide reference points. FIG. 4 showstop 154 also generally aligned with rear 105 of member 104 and southpole S1 of first magnet 140. FIG. 5 shows mounting member 104 and cellphone 108 from above in the unaligned orientation as shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 shows rotation of mounting member 104 and cell phone 108 (ArrowsB) about an axis A which passes centrally through post 134. Saidrotation is in response to the magnetic attraction between respectivenorth and south poles N1 and S1 of first magnet 140 and south and northpoles S2 and N2 of second magnet 142 and repulsion between like poles.FIG. 7 shows mounting member 104 and cell phone 108 having been rotatedcompletely to the aligned display orientation. FIG. 8 shows mountingmember 104 and cell phone 108 having rotated as indicated at Arrow C tothe aligned display orientation so that north and south poles N1 and S1of first magnet 140 are respectively aligned with south and north polesS2 and N2 of second magnet 142. This rotational movement of mountingmember 104 and phone 108 occurs automatically simply by releasingmounting member 104 with post 134 in opening 118 without any additionalforce necessary beyond the magnetic attraction and repulsion describedabove. While it is possible to provide a magnetic field via the use ofan electric current, it is preferred to utilize permanent magnets suchas magnets 140 and 142 to provide a simple and cost efficientmagnetically operable alignment mechanism.

Referring to FIGS. 9-10, display stand 200 is now described. Displaystand 200 is similar to stand 100 in that it includes a base 202, amounting member 204 and tether 106. Mounting member 204 is configuredfor mounting thereon an item of merchandise, such as a camera 208 (e.g.,FIG. 12), via a fastener 209, such as a screw or a bolt shown hereextending through an elongated opening formed in mounting member 204.Any suitable mounting mechanism known in the art may be used formounting an item of merchandise to mounting member 204. Mounting member204 has a front 203, a rear 205 opposed thereto and first and secondopposed sides 206 and 207. Base 202 is similar to base 102 in that itincludes a foundation 110 and a column 212 which is similar to column112. Column 212 has a front 213, a rear 215 opposed thereto and firstand second opposed sides 216 (FIG. 11) and 217. Base 202 furtherincludes a seating member 214 which is mounted atop column 212 viaadhesive, sonic welding or any other suitable means known in the art.

With reference to FIGS. 11-12, seating member 214 defines an opening 218which extends downwardly from an upper surface 220 of member 214. Moreparticularly, seating member 214 includes a seating plate 222 whichdefines flat upper surface 220. Member 214 further includes a cup-shapedmember 224 extending downwardly from plate 222 in the form of atruncated cylinder. More particularly, member 224 includes asubstantially cylindrical side wall 226 extending downwardly from plate222 and an angled bottom wall 228 which in particular angles downwardlyfrom a first side 227 of side wall 226 to a second opposed side 229 ofside wall 226. Bottom wall 228 is substantially flat and has an ovalshape. Cup-shaped member 224 has an inner surface 230 which ispreferably smooth to promote slidable engagement with minimal frictionbetween surface 230 and post 234. Inner surface 230 includes an inner orupper surface 231 of bottom wall 228. Upper surface 231 is substantiallyflat, angles downwardly from adjacent first side 227 to adjacent secondside 229 of side wall 226 and is substantially oval in shape. Opening218 is thus an interior chamber bounded by inner surface 230 of sidewall 226 and bottom wall 228.

Mounting member 204 includes a merchandise mounting portion 232 havingan upper surface 238 and a base mounting portion in the form of a post234 which is connected to and extends downwardly from portion 232. Post234 includes a substantially cylindrical side wall 235 having asubstantially cylindrical and thus convex outer surface 236 which issmooth to promote easy sliding engagement with inner surface 230 ofcup-shaped member 224. Post 234 further includes a substantially flatoval-shaped bottom wall 237 having a lower surface 239 which angles in amating configuration with upper surface 231 of bottom wall 228 ofcup-shaped member 224. Bottom wall 237 has an oval-shaped outerperimeter 241 lying along outer surface 236 of sidewall 235. Post 234adjacent its lower end has first and second arcuate camming surfaces240A and 240B which are located on perimeter 241 at the intersection ofside wall 235 and bottom wall 237. Camming surfaces 240A and 240Balternately work in conjunction with upper surface 231 of bottom wall228 in order to rotate mounting member 204 and camera 208 to the aligneddisplayed orientation as discussed further below. Each camming surface240 is an arcuate surface which runs along the lower end of side wall235. Each camming surface 240 is an arc of the oval outer perimeter 241formed by the truncation of cylindrical side wall 235.

Operation of display stand 200 is described with reference to FIGS.12-15. FIG. 12 shows mounting member 204 in the removed position withcamera 208 mounted thereon. A front 242, rear 244 and opposed sides 246and 248 (FIG. 15) of camera 208 may be used as reference points toclarify movement of mounting member 204 and camera 208 to an aligneddisplay orientation.

FIG. 12 shows mounting member 204 with front 203 thereof facing towardfirst side 216 of column 212 and front 242 of camera 208 facinglikewise. The user or potential customer returns mounting member 204 toits mounted position on base 202 with post 234 disposed in opening 218by moving mounting member 204 and camera 208 downwardly as indicated atarrow D in FIG. 13. In the exemplary embodiment, this downward movementis linear parallel to a substantially vertical axis E which passesthrough the center of the post 234. FIG. 13 shows camming surface 240Aat an initial point of engagement with upper surface 231 of bottom wall228. Once post 234 is inserted within opening 218, the person handlingcamera 208 may simply release camera 208 and mounting member 204 and theforce of gravity will pull member 204 and camera 208 further downwardlyas indicated at arrow F in FIG. 14 as the camming engagement betweencamming surfaces 240A and 231 causes member 204 and camera 208 to rotateabout axis E as indicated at arrow G whereby front 242 of camera 208 andfront 203 of mounting member 204 move toward front 213 of column 212.

The combination of the downwarde movement and the rotational movementabout axis E produces downwardly spiraling movement of member 204 andcamera 208. During this movement, camming surface 240A slides downwardlyand laterally along the angled inner surface 231 while outer surface 236of side wall 235 of post 234 slidably engages inner surface 230 alongside wall 226 of cup-shaped member 224. Prior to the engagement ofcamming surface 240A and inner surface 231, this slidable engagementbetween surfaces 236 and 230 may simply be vertically downward in alinear fashion. Once camming surfaces 240 and 231 engage and cause therotation of member 204 and camera 208, the sliding engagement betweensurfaces 236 and 230 includes the rotational movement and thus will alsoinvolve a downwardly spiraling slidable engagement therebetween. Thisdownward spiraling movement continues until lower surface 239 of post234 is seated in a mating fashion on upper surface 231 of mounting wall228 at which time front 242 of camera 208 and front 203 of mountingmember 204 are aligned with front 213 of column 212 and the associatedrear portions and sides of these members are also respectively aligned.Thus, gravitational force moves member 204 and camera 208 downwardly andcauses rotation via camming surfaces 240A and 231 to achieve the aligneddisplay orientation of FIG. 15. No other force is required to achievethe display orientation which occurs automatically upon the release ofcamera 208 and member 204 with post 234 disposed within opening 218 ofbase 202.

Alternately, camming surface 240B may engage camming surface 231 torotate member 204 and camera 208 about axis E in the opposite directionindicated by arrow G in FIG. 14. Display stand 200 thus provides asimple alignment mechanism for moving mounting member 204 andmerchandise such as camera 208 from an unaligned orientation to analigned display orientation as described.

Referring to FIGS. 16-19, stand 300 is now described. Display stand 300is similar to stand 100 in that it includes a base 302, a mountingmember 304 and a tether 106. Base 302 includes an alarm 301 (FIG. 16),which may include an audible alarm and/or a visible alarm light. Base302 is essentially the same as base 102 except that top of base 302 ishorizontal like that of base 202 and base 302 eliminates the outwardlyextending portion of plate 122 of base 102. Thus, mounting member 304during the automatic orientation thereof rotates about a vertical axisH. Mounting member 304 is the distinguishing feature of stand 300although it has some similar characteristics to mounting members 104 and204. Mounting member 304 moves in the same fashion as mounting member104 via the interaction of magnets 140 (FIG. 23) and 142 (FIG. 3) whenmounting member 304 is mounted on base 102 except that mounting member304 rotates about vertical axis H.

In short, mounting member 304 is configured to allow camera 208 oranother display item to be adjusted or moved relative to mounting member304 between a plurality of display positions, which is particularlyuseful in the centering of the display item to produce a desirableaesthetic display and for better balancing the display item on mountingmember 304, and on base 102 when mounting member 304 is mounted thereon.It is well known that many cameras have internally threaded mountingholes for mounting the camera on tripods and the like, and that thesemounting holes are often off center. Thus, mounting member 304 isparticularly useful for displaying such cameras and other display itemshaving off center mounting locations.

In order to provide the adjusting movements of camera 208, mountingmember 304 includes a first lower mounting element 306 and a secondupper mounting element 308 (FIGS. 19 and 21-24) which is movably mountedon upper element 306. Broadly, lower element 306 is configured to mounton base 102 and upper element 308 is configured to mount on camera 208so that the adjustment of element 308 with respect to element 306 movescamera 208 to a selected display position.

Referring to FIGS. 16-20, lower mounting element 306 has a front 310, anopposed rear 312, and first and second opposed ends or sides 314 and316. Lower element 306 is a generally hollow structure and thus forms ahousing which includes a base 318 and a lid 320 pivotally mountedthereon via a pair of hinges 322. In the secured position shown in FIGS.1-3, base 318 and lid 320 are secured to one another by a pair offasteners in the form of screws 324 (FIG. 18-19). Base 318 includes agenerally flat and rectangular wall 326 which is substantiallyhorizontal when mounted on base 302. Base 318 further includes a post328 which is connected to and extends downwardly from wall 326. Post 328is similar to post 134 of stand 100 and houses magnet 140 (FIG. 23) forproviding the automatic orienting movement of mounting member 304 whenmounted on base 302. More particularly, post 328 is centered betweenfirst and second ends 314 and 316 of lower element 306, as best seen inFIG. 18. As previously noted mounting member 304 rotates about axis H,which in FIG. 18 also represents the center line between sides 314 and316, being equidistant from each of said sides. In the display positionof camera 208 shown in FIG. 18, center line H is aligned with a centerline J of camera 208, which is disposed between and equidistant fromsides 246 and 248 thereof. Thus, side 248 of camera 208 overhangs orextends outwardly of side 314 of mounting member 308 by a distance whichis equal to that by which side 316 is overhung by side 246 of camera208. As previously noted with regard to many cameras, camera 208 definesa threaded hole 330 which extends upwardly from the bottom thereof andwhich is off center between sides 246 and 248 thereof. Moreparticularly, side 248 of camera 208 and hole 330 define a distance D1therebetween and side 246 and hole 330 define a distance D2 therebetweenwhich is smaller than distance D1.

With reference to FIGS. 19 and 20, base 318 further includes a pluralityof upwardly extending projections in the form of ridges 332. Eachadjacent pair of ridges 332 defines therebetween a recess 333 which iselongated in the axial direction. In the present embodiment, base 318includes a series of over thirty ridges which are parallel to oneanother and extend in an axial direction defined between front 310 andrear 312 of mounting member 304. Ridges 332 are thus spaced from oneanother in a longitudinal direction defined between sides 314 and 316 ofmounting member 304. Ridges 332 are provided along nearly the entirelength of wall 326. A retaining member 334 is connected to wall 326within an opening defined therein directly above and in contact withmagnet 140 (FIG. 23) in order to retain said magnet in its positionwithin post 328. Retaining washers 336 are disposed atop wall 326 andrespectively engage screws 324 to retain screws 324 on base 318 whenbase 318 and lid 320 are in the open position.

Lid 320 includes a front wall 338, a rear wall 340, and first and secondside walls 342 and 344 which extend between and are connected to frontand rear walls 338 and 340. Lid 320 also includes a top wall 346 whichextends inwardly from each of walls 338, 340, 342 and 344 a relativelyshort distance to define an elongated opening 348 which communicateswith an interior chamber 350 (FIG. 23) defined between base 318 and lid320 in the closed position. More particularly, top wall 346 includes afront portion 352, a rear portion 354, and first and second sideportions 356 and 358 which are connected to and extend respectivelyinwardly from front wall 338, wall 340, first side wall 342 and secondside wall 344. First side portion 356 has a first inwardly facingsurface 360 which serves as a first stop. Likewise, second side portion358 has a second inwardly facing surface 362 which serves as a secondstop. Surfaces 360 and 362 serve as the ends of opening 348, betweenwhich opening 348 is elongated in the longitudinal direction.

Front portion 352 defines a front channel 364 which is elongated in thelongitudinal direction and is nearly as long as opening 348. Likewise,rear portion 354 defines a rear channel 356 which is parallel to channel364 and of the same length. Channel 364 extends upwardly from the lowersurface of front portion 352 and rear channel 366 likewise extendsupwardly from the lower surface of rear portion 354. Front portion 352includes a downwardly extending front projection 365 which is disposedinwardly of and bounds channel 364. Front projection 365 also boundsopening 348. Likewise, rear portion 354 includes a downwardly extendingrear projection 367 which is disposed inwardly of and bounds rearchannel 366. Projection 367 also bounds opening 348.

First side wall 342 defines a downwardly opening arch 368 and secondside wall 344 likewise defines a downwardly opening arch 370. In theclosed position, bottom wall 326 of base 318 cooperates with arch 368 toform a first tether-receiving through hole 372 (FIG. 23) which serves asan entrance opening in communication with interior chamber 350.Likewise, wall 326 cooperates with arch 370 in the closed position todefine a second tether-receiving through hole 374 which likewise servesas an entrance opening in communication with interior chamber 350. Inthe position of upper mounting element 308 shown in FIG. 23, tether 106adjacent one end thereof passes through second through hole 374, isslidably received therein and is connected to element 308. Front wall338 includes a window which includes a slot 376 (FIG. 24) which isformed in wall 338 and is elongated in the longitudinal direction andwhich communicates with interior chamber 350. The window includes atransparent or translucent lens 378 which is disposed in slot 376 and iselongated in the longitudinal direction.

With reference to FIGS. 19 and 21-25, upper mounting element 308 is nowdescribed. Upper element 308 includes a body 388 with a front wing 390extending axially outwardly therefrom in the forward direction.Likewise, a rear wing 392 extends axially outwardly from body 388 in therearward direction. Wings 390 and 392 are elongated in the longitudinaldirection, extend nearly the entire length of element 308 and areparallel to one another. Front wing 390 includes an outwardly extendingarm 394 which extends axially outwardly in the forward direction frombody 388. Wing 390 also includes an upwardly extending projection 396(FIGS. 22, 24) which is connected to and extends upwardly from arm 394so that body 388, arm 394 and projection 396 define therebetween anupwardly opening channel 398 which is elongated in the longitudinaldirection and is open on either end thereof so that channel 398 issuited to receive therein front projection 365 of front portion 352 ofstop wall 346. Similarly, rear wing 392 includes a laterally extendingarm 400 which extends axially outward from body 388 in a rearwarddirection with a projection 402 extending upwardly therefrom so thatbody 388, arm 400 and projection 402 define therewith a channel 404which opens upwardly and has open ends in order to receive therein rearprojection 367 of rear portion 354 of top wall 346. Thus, each ofprojections 396, 365, 367 and 402 are slidably received withinrespective channels 364, 398, 404 and 366 so that upper element 308slidably engages top wall 346 of lid 320 during the sliding movement ofelement 308 relative to element 306 between the various displaypositions of element 308.

Body 388 has a top 406 and bottom 408. Body 388 includes a plurality ofdownwardly extending projections in the form of ridges 410 which aredisposed along bottom 408 and which define therebetween respectiverecesses 412. As shown in FIG. 23, ridges 410 and recesses 412 are of amating configuration respectively with recesses 333 and ridges 332 ofwall 326. Ridges 410 and recesses 412 thus extend axially all the wayacross bottom 408 of body 388 except where interrupted by a screwreceiving hole 414 which extends from bottom 408 to top 406 and receivestherein a fastener in the form of a screw 416. More particularly, hole414 is a counter bore hole suited to receive an enlarged head 418 ofscrew 416. Head 418 includes a tool engaging portion 420 (FIG. 21) shownin the present embodiment as a star-shaped depression for receiving astar wrench. A retaining washer 448 (FIG. 25) is used to retain screw416 on body 388 of mounting element 308. Screw 416 is off center in thelongitudinal direction, being closer to first side 384 than second side386 as indicated by distance D3 and distance D4, which is greater thanD3 (FIG. 23).

A layer of padding 422 is connected to top 406 of body 388 and has asubstantially flat upper surface 424. As shown in FIG. 23, padding 422defines a first hole 426 for receiving therethrough a threaded portion419 of screw 416, which extends upwardly of upper surface 424. Padding422 also defines a second hole 428 in which a plunger 430 of a plungerswitch 432 is disposed so that plunger 430 extends upwardly of uppersurface 424 of padding 422 when plunger 430 is not depressed. Switch 432is disposed within an interior chamber 434 of mounting element 308. Moreparticularly, second mounting element 308 includes upper and lowermembers 436 and 438 (FIGS. 23-24) which are connected to one another todefine interior chamber 434. Upper and lower members 436 and 438 whenconnected clamp tether 106 therebetween to secure tether 106 to body388.

Also disposed within interior chamber 434 are first and second lights440 and 442 which in the configuration shown in FIG. 24 are respectivelyfront and rear lights. Each of lights 440 and 442 extend from withininterior chamber 434 outwardly so that a portion of each light isdisposed outwardly of body 388 and within interior chamber 350 of firstmounting element 306. First light 440 is directed toward lens 378 andwhen lit emits light rays in the direction of and through lens 378 sothat light rays are externally visible. Light 440 thus serves as anarming indicator light which is lit when plunger 430 is depressed. Eachof lights 440 and 442 includes a pair of electrical connections 444which are appropriately configured to be in electrical communicationwith electrical conductors 446 (FIG. 22) of tether 106 and with switch432. Padding 422 is typically formed of an elastomer or othercompressible material and is usually in the form of a foam. The lowerlayer of padding 422 is adhered to the upper surface of body 388 by anadhesive and the upper surface of padding 422 may include an adhesive ifdesired although the lack of such an adhesive allows padding 422 to bereusable with other display items.

In operation, mounting member 304 is moved to the open position shown inFIG. 19 by loosening screws 324 and pivoting base 318 and lid 320 open.Screw 416 is then aligned with threaded hole 330 and is rotated (Arrow Kin FIG. 26) to threadedly engage camera 208 and move upwardly therein(Arrow L) to secure mounting member 304 to camera 208. At this point,screw 416 is only partially tightened so that camera 208 and padding 422may or may not be spaced from one another, and so that element 308 isstill slidable on element 306. In this partially tightened state, camera208 and upper element 308 are then slid in a linear fashion relative tolower element 306 to a desired display position with relation to lowerelement 308. Typically, this sliding movement of camera 208 and upperelement 308 moves them from an unaligned off center position, as shownby the unaligned center lines J and H, to the centered display positionpreviously described, as shown in phantom in FIG. 26. Screw 416 is thentightened (Arrows N and O in FIG. 27) so that the upper surface of thepadding 422 abuts the lower surface of camera 208. When screw 416 isfully tightened, the frictional engagement between elements 306 and 308tends to prevent or substantially limit sliding movement therebetween.Base 318 and lid 320 are then pivoted about hinges 322 toward oneanother (Arrow P in FIG. 27) so that screws 324 (FIG. 26) may betightened to secure base 318 and lid 320 to one another. The tighteningof screws 324 secures mounting element 308 in a fixed position relativeto mounting element 306 via the engagement of ridges 332 and 410.

As screw 416 is tightened, the lower surface of camera 208 depressesplunger 430 to close a circuit in order to arm alarm 301 and to turn onlights 440 and 442 to indicate that alarm 301 is armed. As with theprevious embodiments, alarm 301 is activated if the sense loop of stand300 is compromised, such as by the disconnection or severing of tether106, or movement of camera 208 sufficiently away from mounting element308 so that plunger 430 moves to an extended position.

FIG. 28 shows mounting member 304 in use with an alternate camera 208Ahaving a center line J1 and a mounting location in the form of athreaded hole 330 which is off center from center line J1 in a directionopposite that of camera 208. Arrow Q in FIG. 28 shows that upper element308 has been moved from the position shown in FIG. 27, in which side 386thereof abuts stop 362, to its extreme opposite position in which side384 abuts stop 360. In the position of upper element 308 shown in FIG.28, screw 416 and first side 314 of lower element 306 definetherebetween a distance D6 which is shorter than distance D5 which isillustrated in FIG. 23. The off center position of screw 416 createsthis difference in distances D5 and D6 while allowing for the spaceneeded to mount switch 432 and lights 440 and 442 within upper element308. During the movement of upper element 308 from the position shown inFIG. 27 to the position shown in FIG. 28, tether 106 slides through hole374 of lower element 306. FIG. 28 thus illustrates the ability to usemounting member 304 with an alternate camera or other display item inwhich the mounting location or hole 330 is at a different location withrespect to the sides of the display item or its center line whileallowing for the centering or other desirable positioning of the displayitem relative to lower element 306.

FIG. 29 shows mounting member 304 in use with another alternate camera208B having a center line J2 and a mounting location in the form of athreaded hole 330 which is off center from center line J2 in a directionopposite that of camera 208. As FIG. 29 shows, mounting element 308 isin a reversed orientation with respect to that shown in the previousfigures so that first side 384 of element 308 faces second side 316 ofelement 306 and second side 386 faces first side 314 so that tether 106passes through hole 372. Thus, light 440 faces rearwardly and light 442(not shown in FIG. 29) faces forward. In addition, the reverseorientation allows for a different positioning of screw 416 due to itsbeing offset within body 388 of element 308. For certain display items,the offset nature of screw 416 allows for the mounting on those displayitems in the reverse orientation of element 308 when this would not bepossible in the standard position shown in the previous figures. Inaddition, it may be desirable to have tether 106 extend outwardly fromelement 306 on one side as opposed to the other depending on the area inwhich stand 300 is used. The reversible nature of element 308 allows forthis possibility. As noted above, light 442 faces forward and this isrepresented in phantom in FIG. 18. The phantom representation alsorepresents light 440 when upper element 308 is in the non-reversedposition and light 440 is positioned closer to end 314 than to end 316,as in FIG. 28.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity,clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to beimplied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because suchterms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadlyconstrued.

Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention is anexample and the invention is not limited to the exact details shown ordescribed.

1. A device for displaying a display item having an internally threadedhole formed therein, the device comprising: a first mounting elementhaving first and second opposed sides and a longitudinal directionextending from the first side to the second side; a second mountingelement; a screw rotatably mounted on the second mounting element andhaving an externally threaded shaft extending outwardly therefrom forengaging the internally threaded hole to secure the display item to thesecond mounting element so that the display item is external to thefirst mounting element; wherein the second mounting element and displayitem are movably mounted on the first mounting element to selectivelymove in the longitudinal direction relative to the first mountingelement between a plurality of display positions.
 2. The device of claim1 further comprising an electric plunger switch carried by the secondmounting element and having a plunger movable between depressed andnon-depressed positions; and wherein the plunger is depressed by thedisplay item when the display item is secured to the second mountingelement.
 3. The device of claim 1 further comprising first and secondstops on the first mounting element; and first and second stop surfaceson the second mounting element; and wherein the threaded shaft and thefirst side of the first mounting element define therebetween a firstdistance when the first stop surface abuts the first stop; the threadedshaft and the second side of the first mounting element definetherebetween a second distance when the second stop surface abuts thesecond stop; and the second distance is greater than the first distance.4. The device of claim 3 wherein the first and second stop surfaces areon longitudinally spaced opposed ends of the second mounting element;and the threaded shaft is closer to the first stop surface than to thesecond stop surface.
 5. The device of claim 1 wherein the first mountingelement has a first center line; the display item has a second centerline; and the second mounting element and the display item are movableto align the first and second center lines.
 6. A device for displaying adisplay item having an item mounting location, the device comprising: afirst mounting element having first and second opposed sides, a front, aback, a longitudinal direction extending from the first side to thesecond side, and an axial direction extending from the front to theback; a second mounting element comprising a first mounting locationadapted to connect to the item mounting location, the second mountingelement having first and second longitudinally spaced opposed ends, anda front and a back axially spaced from one another; wherein the secondmounting element is movably mounted on the first mounting element toselectively move in the longitudinal direction relative to the firstmounting element between a plurality of display positions; a first wallon one of the first and second mounting elements; and a plurality ofaxially extending longitudinally spaced first ridges formed on the firstwall and engageable with the other of the first and second mountingelements to prevent longitudinal movement of the second mounting elementrelative to the first mounting element.
 7. The device of claim 6 whereinthe first ridges are substantially straight and substantially parallelto one another.
 8. The device of claim 6 further comprising a secondwall on the other of the first and second mounting elements; and aplurality of axially extending second ridges formed on the second walland engageable with the first ridges to prevent longitudinal movement ofthe second mounting element relative to the first mounting element. 9.The device of claim 6 wherein the first ridges include a plurality ofridges formed adjacent the first side of the first mounting element anda plurality of ridges formed adjacent the second side of the firstmounting element.
 10. The device of claim 6 wherein the first ridges areformed along the first wall from adjacent the first side of the firstmounting element to adjacent the second side of the first mountingelement.
 11. The device of claim 6 wherein the first ridges extend fromadjacent the front to adjacent the back of the second mounting element.12. The device of claim 6 wherein the first ridges extend from adjacentthe front to adjacent the back of the first mounting element.
 13. Thedevice of claim 6 wherein the first mounting element comprises a frontwall and a back wall defining therebetween an interior chamber; thesecond mounting element is disposed in the interior chamber; and thefirst ridges extend from adjacent the front wall to adjacent the backwall.
 14. The device of claim 13 wherein the second mounting elementextends from within the interior chamber and outwardly from the firstmounting element so that the first mounting location is external to thefirst mounting element.
 15. The device of claim 6 wherein the firstmounting element comprises a base and a lid mounted on the base andmovable between an open position and a closed position; and wherein thefirst ridges are formed on one of the lid and base.
 16. The device ofclaim 15 wherein the base and the lid when in the closed position clampthe second mounting element therebetween to force the second mountingelement into contact with the first ridges.
 17. The device of claim 6further comprising a base; and wherein the first and second mountingelements are part of a mounting member; the mounting member beingmovable between a mounted position in which the mounting member is incontact with the base and a removed position in which the mountingmember is movable so that the mounting member is adapted to facilitateviewing and handling of the display item.
 18. The device of claim 17further comprising an electrical conductor extending between the baseand the mounting member and an alarm; and wherein the electricalconductor is in electrical communication with the alarm.
 19. The deviceof claim 6 in combination with the display item; and wherein the displayitem is connected to the second mounting element at the item mountinglocation and must move back and forth in the longitudinal direction withthe second mounting element as the second mounting element movesrespectively back and forth in the longitudinal direction relative tothe first mounting element.